Comments on: Why Productivity?

By: Trey Meier

Trey Meier — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 14:49:36 +0000

My reason for becoming interested in productivity was self-improvement. I suppose that fits into the Achiever category because I always want to be learning and growing and improving. I enjoy accomplishing things and the lessons gained from the accomplishments.

I have many times hit that wall from approaching productivity in survivor mode, and once the item or project is done I start to relax to the point where I become behind on all of my tasks again.

Now I am working on my productivity to create habits that continue to benefit me in everything I do. I usually take a bit of many different practices and combine them to create practices that fit best in my situation rather than a specific book or productivity mantra. I am finding that the more diligent I am in sticking to a practice, the greater benefits I start to see.

I agree with you Scott, I think there are more benefits to productivity if you work it in for positive reasons, rather than avoiding negative ones. I know that changing my focus on productivity has helped me immensely.

By: Scott Young

Scott Young — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:26:49 +0000

Thanks for all the comments, everyone.

I don’t think there is anything wrong with a survivor mentality. But diminishing returns will start kicking in soon if you take that perspective.

My purpose for this post was to explain how some people can quickly hit a wall with productivity, and other people can take it in completely. The answer, of course, being their source of motivation.

-Scott

By: J.D. Meier

J.D. Meier — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 07:38:32 +0000

My day job is survival of the fittest and productivity is key. Initially it was survival, but eventually it became about spending more time on important stuff, spending less time on unimportant stuff and hitting the sweet spots of windows of opportunity.

My manager values results and effectiveness over hours and effort. It forces me to work smarter over harder and find the most effective ways to make impact and deliver incremental value. Time is a first-class citizen and that’s a good thing.

My best lessons have been about figuring out a sustainable rhythm for results, focusing on outcomes over activities, and avoiding the “productivity trap.” To me, the productivity trap is when you become a slave to a system or tools. I think the key to meaningful productivity is where your results framework supports you and whatever you want to accomplish. I’ve kept my approaches lean and effective — I can scale up to million dollar projects or down to just designing a good day, whether it’s for me or my teams. I’m at a point now though where I make more impact, by helping others be more effective. Knowledge really is power.

By: Snigel

Snigel — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 05:52:05 +0000

I am purely what you call an achiever. My goal for optimising is to be able to do more things I want to do, rather than more things that I actually have to do to survive. That might be because I am in such a situation (fairly cheap living, no children and studying Chinese) that allows me to choose quite freely what to do with my time. On the other hand, it might have much more to do with personality (meaning that I do not thing my determination would change if I suddenly found a job). I think the idea of getting the most out of one’s life is something much deeper than circumstance.

On a more general note, I find your article very interesting. It is obvious when you spell it out, but I actually had not thought about it before. Sadly, I do not have much to add to your thoughts, except to say that I agree with you on every point and that I like your website. It is always nice with people who present me with material I sort of knew myself, but needed someone else, more thorough and clear-thinking, to actually write about. Thanks.

By: Michael Kwan

Michael Kwan — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:24:36 +0000

I don’t think there is anything inherently wrong with the survivor standpoint, so long as you replace the work that you are doing (increasing productivity and efficiency) with something else that is meaningful and brings you happiness. If this means that you have more time to dedicate to your children, that’s great. If this means that you have more time to travel the world, that’s great too.

By: Jamie

Jamie — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:13:04 +0000

Again, you hit the nail right on the head. I find myself at a point now, where I’ve achieved enough productivity to reduce stress dramatically…….now what? I have a ton of goals yet to achieve, but I feel as though I’m in a plateau! I may just be looking at things from a “survivor” standpoint. I am extremely organized, but I am bored with, as the previous writer said, the “same old, same old”. I’ve eliminated alot of work, but I really don’t seem to be getting any more out of the work that I have? Maybe time for a perspective change! Thanks!

By: Kali

Kali — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:01:55 +0000

My reason for becoming more productive is to reduce stress so I guess I fit into the “survivor” category. The thing is, there was a time I tried implementing “super” early wake-up hours to, like, read or even journal, but it all just seemed to get boring – the same same-old, same-old – plus I would naturally just go to bed earlier. So maybe its just that the “projects” I chose weren’t really projects I was interested in. A little bit of it has to do with faith, as well. I seem to lack the faith that I’ll be able to get anywhere at a decent pace with projects that are totally novel to me, but that, perhaps, would maintain my interest.